


Mischief and a SourWolf

by LoneWolf1993



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angry Derek, Angry Derek Hale, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awesome Melissa, Banshee Lydia Martin, Banshee Powers, Banshees, Blood and Gore, Bottom Stiles Stilinski, Concerned Derek, Concerned Derek Hale, Derek Feels, Derek Has Issues, Derek returns, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotionally Hurt Derek Hale, Emotionally Hurt Stiles Stilinski, F/M, Feral Derek, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt Derek, Hurt Sheriff Stilinski, Hurt Stiles, Hurt/Comfort, John is Missing, M/M, Mates, Melissa is Missing, Multi, Non-Canon Relationship, POV Derek, Pack Mother Stiles Stilinski, Pining Derek, Protective Derek, Scent Kink, Scent Marking, Scent tracking, Scenting, Scents & Smells, Season/Series 05, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Stiles Stilinski Cooks, Stiles Stilinski's Jeep's Name is Roscoe, Stiles Stilinski's Name is Mieczysław, Top Derek, Violence, Wendigo, Wolf Derek, after season 4, full shift derek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2018-09-24 10:28:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9718745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoneWolf1993/pseuds/LoneWolf1993
Summary: It's been four months since Derek left Beacon Hills and has began to settle into his new life. Until he gets a message from the life he left that has him coming back to the reason he left in the first place.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheTypewriterGirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTypewriterGirl/gifts).



> Been waiting to share this for a while now. Got the back bone basically finished. Now to flesh it all out.  
> Slow burn, lots of angst. The feels will happen I promise, but not too soon, maybe.  
> First chapter is short, mostly due to my own excitement to give you guys something.

Four months. It's been four months since Derek left Beacon Hills. He began to settle into his new life in Wyoming. He found himself a nice size cabin not far from Yellowstone National Park, on a fifteen-acre wooded lot. He cleared out some trails, great for his morning runs and excellent for letting his inner wolf out on full moons. He chose Wyoming for its large wooded land masses and the knowledge of wolves being native. If anyone were to see him as a fully shifted wolf or hear him howl, they wouldn't be too shocked by the experience as to report it.

Cora had been moving around in South America for a while now but decided to crash with Derek until she discovered her next adventure.

The March weather of Wyoming is a chill 35-40 degrees after the sun is up. It's pretty cold once covered in a layer of sweat from running, which is exactly what Derek is doing at seven in the morning. Being a Werewolf though Derek is only clothed in light gym pants and a thin hoodie; plenty to keep him warm with his excess body heat.

When he returns indoors he finds Cora making some eggs, and Derek's protein shake waiting for him. Something she's been nice enough to do since he's letting her stay, and it's become part of the routine.

"Your phone rang. I didn't touch it." She greets.

He grabs his shake before checking the phone to find a missed call and voice message from one Sheriff Stilinski. He checks the time and he just missed it, so he plays the message.

"Derek, it's John. Hey." Derek can hear the Sheriff breathe a deep sigh, his voice is tired. "Stiles has been in an accident and was in pretty bad shape. Been in the hospital for a couple days now, they're expecting to release him in a few more but, he seems to have forgotten a few things. He refuses to see anyone and keeps asking for you. I know it's a far stretch but I think it'd do him and myself some good if you could check in on him. Maybe it'll help him remember." 

Derek felt an anger rise in him during the message.

Anger because Stiles was injured and hospitalized and he wasn't there. Honestly, the reason Derek left was also because of Stiles. Derek knows he's not the most emotionally expressive or verbal person unless it comes to his rage. One of the mysteries of his emotions occurred when two teenagers trespassed onto his private property, searching for a stupid inhaler. He felt something in his gut pull when he saw the scrawny pale one with the moles and upturned nose and promptly dismissed it.

Of course, as luck would have it. The pale one, this "Stiles" would be weaved into his life. Slowly, after coming to ask the kid for help with a Wolfsbane laced bullet, he realized these feelings were more than just anxious nerves. Derek was developing feelings for this kid, and he tried his best to repress them. This resulted in pinning to walls, trees, the occasional jeep, and death glares aplenty.

They helped save each other's life on many occasions and Derek began to trust the kid more than he had anyone else in a long time. He would never admit it, though, and he certainly wasn't going to admit the way he felt about him either. Derek became involved with Jennifer, and then Braeden, telling himself it wasn't just to try and forget about Stiles.

Over the course of about a year he watched as Stiles went from scrawny to lean, shoulders broadened and jaw more defined. Growing into a young man, causing the feelings in Derek to stir even more. Derek had been thinking about leaving Beacon Hills for a while. The only way to rid himself of these feelings was probably to get some space; Out of sight, out of mind.

Suffice it to say that wasn't really working out for him. Because now he just found out that the young man has been injured and he wasn't there to help at all.

Sensing Derek's mood change Cora turns away from the stove "Derek? What's wrong?"

"It's Stiles. He's in the hospital, some kind of accident."

"Derek, you still really feel for him don't you?"

He's in Beacon Hills by the next morning, Cora in tow.


	2. The One Condition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles wakes up, but he's not at home.  
> The Sheriff doesn't know what to do for his son.  
> Derek makes Stiles a promise.

Stiles' eyes lift open, though extremely heavy. He's tired and feels like falling right back asleep but he takes notice of an annoying beeping and the strange whiteness of his room.

He's in the hospital.

He shifts his eyes to look around. His head weighs a ton, too heavy to move. "Dad?"

John jumps from his seat near the bed and is at his son's side in an instant, embracing him as best he can. "Stiles! You're awake! Oh, thank god."

"Dad, what happened?" Stiles doesn't remember anything that would put him here. Last he knew he was talking with Lydia. His memory is too fuzzy to recall anything else.

"You were in an accident, you swerved off the road. You weren't wearing your seat belt and was ejected from your seat." Yeah, Stiles doesn't remember any of that. "You've been in here since the night before last."

"What?" Stiles means to speak louder and with more emphasis, but he's too tired and weak for that and it comes out almost a mumble. "How bad?"

"Dislocated your right shoulder, broke your left forearm, fractured a few ribs, cuts and scrapes, and a concussion. We're lucky that's all."

A weak "-kay." is all Stiles can muster before falling back asleep.

John lovingly brushes Stiles hair out of his face before, pulling the chair closer to the bed to hold his son's hand and glances at the clock to check what time he finally woke up.

5:14AM

***

6:23 in the same morning and Stiles is awake again, alert and in a panic. He remembers why he was driving at night, and the accident. John is frantically trying to figure what is giving his son panic attacks, but Stiles won't divulge. The stranger thing is, he doesn't want to see any of his friends, not even Scott. He just keeps crying to himself, sucking in the air whenever his mind will allow it.

Almost an hour later Stiles has managed to calm down some. With only one request.

"Dad, I need to see Derek."

"Son he's out of town, he left a few months ago. I have no idea where he is."

"No Dad, I have to talk to him, please."

"Okay, son. Okay. I'll see if I can get ahold of him." John leaves the ward to make a call to Derek. There is no answer so he leaves a message.

"Derek, it's John. Hey."

He takes a deep breath and sighs, not sure how to ask Derek to return to this place, or why Stiles is specifically asking for him.

"Stiles has been in an accident and was in pretty bad shape. Been in the hospital for a couple days now, they're expecting to release him in a few more but, he seems to have forgotten a few things. He refuses to see anyone and keeps asking for you. I know it's a far stretch but I think it'd do him and myself some good if you could check in on him. Maybe it'll help him remember."

He ends the message and takes a seat in a waiting room. Pondering why his son won't speak to anyone, not even him; not anyone but Derek.

"Why Derek? He's been through some pretty tragic things in life. He's lost most of his family in a fire, been tortured, arrested and exonerated, nearly died several times, what else? Does that mean Stiles is in some kind of trouble?" This line of thought only makes the Sheriff worry more.

"John," Melissa calls to get his attention as she approaches. "John, you look about as bad as your son right now. You need to get home and get some real rest before I hook you up to an IV too." A soft smile gracing her face. "He'll be fine. He's awake and not going anywhere, I'll keep an eye on him, you know I will."

"Yeah, I hear ya. Okay, but if any-"

"I'll call you immediately. Flares and all." She reassures with gentle nods and another smile. That's enough to put a smile on the weary man's face until he just has to ask a question, lost for an answer.

"What happened to him? Why won't he tell me anything, or see anyone?"

"I don't know John, but it's Stiles. He can't keep quiet for long."

"The only person he's asked to see is Derek."

"Derek? He left a while ago. He's kind of a legend in these kids books. I can see why."

"I just left him a message. I don't know how to help own my son Melissa."

"He'll be okay. We'll keep a good eye on him. And who knows, maybe Derek will surprise us. But you need to take care of yourself so you can take care of us, okay Sheriff?"

"Okay, okay. I'm just gonna tell him I'm taking off. I'll be back later."

"Alright, John. Get some rest."

***

It was an all night drive. Thirteen hours from Wyoming to Northern California, it didn't bother Derek though. He enjoyed the cool of the night and the clear star lit sky, moon big and bright. Cora slept most of the drive in the Camaro's passenger seat, providing occasional conversation when sleep wouldn't find her.

Upon entering their hometown the first stop is right to Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital. Derek walks straight in with a purpose, Cora on his heels. Using his nose he takes a couple turns and finds Melissa heading back to the reception desk from the break room. They make eye contact across the hallway and a look of surprise finds Melissa's face.

"Derek? You came. John told me he gave you a call but he wasn't sure you'd actually come."

"I probably should have called him back. Where is Stiles?"

"This way." Melissa nods down the hall and escorts the two.

"What happened to him?" Derek wasn't given any details and after about twenty-four hours of wondering, he needed to know.

"He was driving at night and swerved off the road. Ejected from his seat. Fractured a few ribs, broke an arm and suffered a concussion. Shortly after he woke up he went into a few panic attacks, we believe he remembered why he was out driving at night but refuses to speak to anyone about it, even Scott. He asked specifically for you, but you know that. Oh and he's not been eating, if you could maybe encourage him to eat something we'd all appreciate it."

As they round another corner the trio is greeted with a chorus of "Derek?". The entire pack is waiting outside what Derek assumes is Stiles room. The sight of Malia only reminds him that two are together, and causes a moment's hesitation.

"Derek, you're here. How did you know?" Scott asks, stunned to see both him and Cora back in Beacon Hills.

"John called me." Derek states.

"He called you?"

Derek nods sternly "Said Stiles wouldn't speak to anyone about what happened and that he needed to talk to me."

"What?! Why you? I'm his best friend. We're brothers!" He spits defensively, standing in front of the door.

"I don't know Scott, just let me try to help him, okay?"

"C'mon Scott. Stiles needs to talk to someone about this." Kira urges, taking his arm. Scott deflates and lets Derek pass.

Upon entering the room Derek finds Stiles in possibly the worst shape he's ever seen him, anger finds him and his heart does something funny. He keeps his cool, though, getting angry here won't help anyone.

Stiles is resting, hair a mess, forehead covered in sweat, eyes puffy and dark. He approaches the bed and rests a hand on Stiles' arm, but he wants so much to just lay beside him and hold him safely in his arms. Stiles jumps awake and his heart is pounding. His face a mixed expression of relief and disbelief, before the sobbing starts again.

"Derek, you're here! I don't know what to do. Oh, god! Derek, I can't let anyone find out. It all happened so qui-." Derek interrupts him, holding a finger up in the 'Wait for a second' gesture, then taps his ear silently explaining. Without leaving the bedside Derek faces the door and asks Cora to make everyone gives them some space. After a moment he turns back to Stiles.

"We're good."

"Derek, I don- Derek, I'm freaking out." Tears return to his face "I can't tell anyone or they'll hate me and I'll loose everyone. Everyone! I didn't mean to do it I didn't mean for it to happen, I was just trying to get away, I was just trying to, Oh god, Derek I don't know what to do I-."

"Stiles. Slow down. Breathe. I need you to breathe before you have another panic attack."

Stiles stops his ramble and leans his head back against his pillow. Taking deep breaths, his breathing only hitches a couple times before Derek is satisfied.

"Good. Now slowly. What happened?"

"He's dead Derek. I killed someone. I killed someone and I panicked and- He's dead now."

Derek's eyebrows raise into a shocked expression. Stiles just confessed to killing someone. Derek never believed Stiles could actually do something like that, and he still doesn't. Stiles' heart is elevated, but it didn't falter at the revelation so there's a level of truth to this, or that's what Stiles believes. He needs more to go on.

"Okay. Stiles, I believe that something happened. Tell me everything. From the beginning."

"This kid, Donovan. He threatened to kill my dad. He's been arrested a few times. He came after me at the library. He said he was going to kill me to get back at my dad. He got ahold of me but I got away. I tried to run but I couldn't, I wasn't fast enough. I climbed the scaffolding but he followed me. He grabbed my leg and, and I pulled a pin to one of the bars to slow him down, but it, I didn't mean to kill him, god Derek I killed someone!"

"Stiles. How did it happen?"

"A bunch of steel bars were on the platform I released, I only meant to slow him down but one speared him through the chest. I killed him, Derek. Everyone is going to hate me. You know how Scott is against killing, he'll disown me. I'll lose all my friends. My own father will arrest me!"

"Hey! No, he won't Stiles. Listen to me. He said he was going to kill you. You tried to run but he followed you. When you pulled that pin your intent was to slow him down and get away. It was self-defense Stiles. Do you hear me?"

"But he's dead Derek. What I did killed him."

That sentence resonates with Derek so deeply. What Derek did with Kate killed his family. He meant no harm, but it happened anyway. This must be part of why Stiles would only speak with him. Someone else who would understand this kind of situation and not judge him for it.

"You're right Stiles. He's dead. But you didn't mean to kill him, did you? You tried to get away but he was clearly intent on killing you. You were just defending yourself. If he had stopped it wouldn't have happened. Do you get it, Stiles? You're not to blame for what happened. Everyone will understand that, even Scott."

"Do you really think that?"

"Use your head, Stiles. What if Scott were in your situation? Yeah, he would beat himself up to no end, he tried to get away and didn't mean for it to happen. Would you hate him?"

Stiles doesn't know how he never thought of it like that. It's clear now. He would be there for Scott, nothing would change between them. "Oh, god. Everyone must be freaking out." he admits, sniffing back more tears.

"They're worried about you. They don't know what happened. You should probably tell your dad before they link you to the crime scene. What caused you to crash anyway?"

"I uh. I was freaking out. Possibly speeding. I needed to get away from that library. Part of me kind'a hoped it would just go away like it never happened. I thought I saw Donovan on the road and swerved into the ditch. Don't tell anyone about this Derek. Please."

Derek's expression hardens, almost into his signature death glare. "Okay. But under one condition."

"What? Please. What is it?" He asks, wiping his face.

"Eat." He commands, pulling the food tray over to Stiles. "They told me you're not eating."

"Dude. I'm too tired, I feel like I'll puke if I do."

"Eat or I tell. And don't call me dude." He says sternly.

"Wow, what a SourWolf. Just threaten the injured and emotionally wrecked why don't you. God, you're an ass. Why did I ask for your help again?" Wiping more snot from his nose.

"Because you're an Idiot. I'm not leaving till you eat all of it."

"You'll be here a while."

"Fine." Derek agrees as he sits in the chair next to the bed.


	3. Sam's Diner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek gets Stiles to eat and a deep dark secret is learned.

Stiles takes his sweet time eating his breakfast and Derek provides helping glares when the process takes longer than it should. Over the hour and a half meal, the two spent time catching up.

"Things haven't been quiet, that's for sure," Stiles explains, arms gesturing as much as the IV would allow. "There was this Psychic causing all kinds of trouble, murdered one of our classmates, he was crazy, the Psychic that is. Trying to figure out how to be one step ahead of 'em was a real pain, literally. There was running, and traps, and yeah, but we got 'em. And then Deaton got mixed up in some druidic nonsense which was also crazy, a real crazy mess that I would care very much never to repeat. Things have been pretty much the same here. We've managed but we really could've used your help."

Derek wants to have been here for them, but he wasn't. He's not sure how to respond to that, so a short silence fills the room.

"Hey Derek, why did you really go?"

Again, Derek isn't ready to just come out and say it. That Stiles was part of the reason, but Stiles brought him back. Should he state how he feels, and if he's rejected just go back to Wyoming? God he want's to tell Stiles everything. Breathing the same air as him again, taking in his unique scent. It's all that Derek has been trying to forget, but now that he remembers he doesn't want to let it go. He's not ready to be forced to leave.

"This town hasn't been the best for me. I needed to get away, try to clear my head of it. Scott was ready as Alpha, and you all seem to have a handle on things."

"Yeah but, It doesn't mean we didn't still need you. What about Braeden, she's pretty kick ass, how is she? Are you two still?"

"No. She ended things. Went back to her work." The truth was that after Mexico, Braeden could tell something was off with Derek. It didn't take long for her to figure out the lack of intimacy between them had something to do with someone else on Derek's mind. Someone from Beacon Hills.

"Ah. I'm sorry. That sucks, I know. Malia and I broke up too." This revelation makes Derek a little hopeful. Stiles is single, there's a possibility. He raises a brow, pretending not to be interested in the statement, but curious none the less.

"Yeah, a couple months ago. She didn't really tell me why, but she said something changed. I have no idea what she meant by that, but apparently, she didn't like it. I asked Scott but he said I was the same so I don't know. I don't know man, girls can be pretty crazy." Stiles forks some green beans when his patient wristband catches Derek's eye, he notices by the scrunch Derek's face makes.

"What? You hear something? Do I smell like death?"

Derek walks straight to the end of the bed and pulls Stiles chart.

"Hey, that's private Big Guy. People lose careers over stuff like that you know."

Derek shoots Stiles a glare before returning back to the chart.

"Mi-eh-szies--"

"Oh god. Put that back, now!"

"This is your name?"

"Yes, that's the deep dark secret. Now put that back!"

"How do you say it?"

"No."

Derek glares for the answer, and it works.

"Mieczysław." (Mye-chi-slav)

"Doesn't sound that bad. Why don't you use it?"

"Because. It's a whole thing, long story. Basically, I couldn't say it when I was little and other people couldn't grasp it either. I got made fun of when teachers tried to read it. Kids can be cruel, really, really cruel."

"People learn to say, Tchaikovsky. You should use it."

"Nope. I like Stiles just fine, thank you." Stiles declares when they are interrupted by a knock at the door.

"It's Cora. We should take off. I'll tell everyone that you're okay and not to worry, but you should really talk to them soon."

"Okay, yeah. Hey, Derek? I um, Thanks."

"You're welcome Stiles." Derek leaves the room and already misses Stiles intoxicating scent.

"How is he?" Cora asks as they proceed down the hall.

"He's pretty banged up, but he'll be fine."

"What did you guys talk about? You were in there a while."

"He just needed a new perspective."

When he and Cora near the exit they're stopped by John and the pack.

"Derek, how is he? What going on with my son?"

"He's okay Sheriff. I promised him I wouldn't say, but he's okay. You should go talk to him, the sooner the better. Scott, guys, give them some space. He'll tell you when he's ready."

"Thank you, Derek." John catches him off guard with a hug. John has been so worried and Derek came through for them.

"You're welcome, Sheriff. Go see him."

"Are you guys gonna stay a while?" Liam asks

Derek looks to Cora for her opinion, to which she silently nods. "We'll stay a couple days."

At this point, Derek and Cora are exhausted. They've been sitting on the road for thirteen hours and spent another hour and a half at the hospital sitting some more. They decide to stop and pick up some supplies before heading to the loft. Cora unloads the groceries while Derek gets a room ready upstairs for her. After doing a check on the utilities they grab a quick bite before taking turns with the shower and grabbing a nap.

Restless from a long day of physically doing nothing, they opt to take a long evening walk through the town. With the sidewalks lit by lamp posts, they reminisce on old memories as they pass the locations where events occurred. Lost in these thoughts and with the stamina of being Werewolves the walk ends up lasting a couple of hours. They manage to walk around the entire central town limits with a small detour through a park.

***

Morning rolls around and Derek is the first one up. Normally he'd head out for a morning run, but today he starts with making breakfast. Nothing fancy, just eggs and toast. He pours himself a cup of pomegranate juice that Cora is strangely obsessed with before she makes her morning appearance.

"Food's on the stove."

"Aw, thanks, Der-Bear. Hey!" She calls from the spiral staircase. She caught him red-handed with some of her juice.

"Calm down, we can buy more, there's plenty left. We only bought it last night."

"I didn't think you liked it?"

"It's not as bad as I remember." It's still not Derek's favorite, but not as bad.

Cora joins him at the table with a plate of eggs and toast, accompanied by her own glass of the red juice. "You know Derek, last night's walk was really nice. I kind of miss it here. I think we should stay."

"You? Want to stay?" Derek is surprised. Cora was gone for nearly ten years, turn up, and leaves again wanting nothing to do with the town. Now she says she wants to stay.

"Yeah. C'mon Derek. I've been moving around and, this place is home. And I know you want to stay too."

She's not wrong. Derek really does want to stay. He want's to be here for Stiles and the pack. He misses being around familiar people and the comradery they all share.

"Okay. Yeah, we'll stay."

"Really? Cool, you should look into getting a real place, though, or try fixing this one up, like a lot."

"Fine. I'm gonna go check on Stiles, wanna come?"

"That's okay Der-Bear, you go have fun." She says with a stupid grin, her elbows on the table and chin resting mischievously on her folded hands.

Derek doesn't respond to that. Responding would give life to teasing that he knows would follow. So instead he pulls on his jacket and heads out. He'll probably get teased anyway. "Tell him I said hi!"

***

Driving to the hospital in the daylight and reminiscing over last night's walk, Derek realizes that he really has missed Beacon Hills. The familiar buildings and faces all give him the nostalgic feeling of being home. He is home.

Stiles did indeed tell John about what happened with Donovan. It wasn't easy but he did it and was relieved when his father showed nothing but love, understanding, and support.

John was able to clear the event as self-defense. Finally knowing what was going on with Stiles, John made him promise never to keep anything so big a secret for so long.

When Stiles told Scott about it, he was relieved yet again. Scott wasn't mad at him at all. A little upset at first but only because he didn't come straight to Scott about it. He understood the situation though and was glad that Stiles was okay. It also may have ended with a careful dog pile by the rest of the pack. Careful as not to crush Stiles still mending ribs and bruises

"You look better today." Derek mentions, stepping aside to let a nurse exit the room.

"I feel better, aside from the lack of sleep. Doc says the ribs are healing nicely and I should be free to go in about another day or so. I'll have to keep this stupid cast for another six weeks, ribs should be fully healed by then too. Maybe I'll get everyone to sign it or something. Mason's a pretty good artist, I bet he'd draw on it for me."

"How are you dealing with it all?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I keep having nightmares about it. As if what happened with the Nogitsune wasn't bad enough for my sleep, now this. I don't know if I'll ever get full nights rest again. I just try to ignore it as best as I can, but I don't know If I can ever get rid of this feeling. I don't even know how to explain it, a lot of its guilt but the rest is just like..uh.."

"Like a stain."

"Yeah. You think it will ever go away?"

"It get's easier, but you don't forget."

Derek looks away from Stiles and goes silent. Memories of everyone who has died at his hands swelling up in his mind. He can sense that Stiles regrets asking, but he can't blame the curiosity.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't hav-"

"It's okay. It was an honest question."

Another silence fills the room as Stiles tries to think of something to say that shouldn't go poorly.

"Are you and Cora staying at the loft?"

"Yeah."

"How long will you be in town?"

"Actually, I think we're gonna stay. We miss it here, it feels like home, it is home."

Stiles' face brightens and Derek can feel the atmosphere in the room grow positive.

"Really? That's awesome! Everyone's gonna be so excited! We really did miss you, you know."

"Cora and I briefly talked about staying this morning actually. She's not a fan of the loft, wants us to get a house or something."

"That so, normal. I can't see you doing that. That's just weird."

"I've been living in a house."

"Like, a real house?"

"Cabin in Wyoming."

"Let me guess, acres of land, no one nearby?"

"Mhm."

"Now that I can see that. I can't see you behind and a white picket fence mowing a lawn and picking up the mail. That's just strangely domestic."

Derek's only response is a classic brow raise.

***

The following morning Derek and Cora take a run through an old trail in the preserve. It's just about noon, and the trail is a little overgrown from lack foot traffic. Their family used to run here all the time, but after the Hale house was destroyed no one was there to regularly wander the paths anymore. Nature took it's course and grew to fill some of the void.

"Do you ever miss the house?" Cora asked as the passed where the mansion once stood.

"I miss the familiarity of it, yes."

"Have you thought about, I don't know, rebuilding it?"

The thought has crossed his mind a few times, but he never thought much of it. I would be nice to be back in the preserve. It's the ideal spot for a pack of werewolves. It's relatively secluded and spaciously wooded for roaming on full moons. Derek mulls over the thought for a while, slowing his pace before responding.

"It's a good idea. I'd make some changes but, it'd be nice to have something familiar like that again." He knows it would bring back all kinds of memories good and bad, it already is, but that's a way to keep the memories of his family alive. It's a bittersweet thought.

He's interrupted from his memories when his phone rings. He unzips a sweater pocket to retrieves the phone to see Kira's on the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Derek! It's Kira! Stiles is being released from the hospital today and we're all taking him to Sam's Diner, you and Cora should come with us!"

"Yeah. Okay, well be right there."

"Awesome! See you soon!"

The pair turns back to the loft and gets cleaned up.

***

Pulling into the lot at Sam's Diner, everyone waves Derek and Cora down through the windows. The pack has occupied a stretch of booth and chairs at the back. When Derek and Cora get seated everyone is passing a sharpie and signing Stiles's cast. Some make little doodles and Lydia throws on an inspirational quote next to her elegant signature.

Derek and Cora mark their names between some large doodles of superhero symbols and silly smiley faces. Derek considers adding a triskelion to the canvas but resists the urge. Scott could take it as a claim on Stiles and Derek doesn't want to cause such a scene.

About a minute later and one of the waitresses comes around to the gathering.

"Hey there kids. I'm Emily and I'll be taking care of y'all. Oh, Stiles! Honey, you're finally out of the hospital. That's wonderful! How ya feelin?"

Stiles and Emily go way back. She's been supplying his curly fry addiction since he could chew solid food. She's a Texan through and through and customers adore her southern charm and playful nature. She calls everyone kid and she's earned that right at 57. She's the best and everyone's feels right at home with her taking care of them.

"Hey M! I'm so glad to be out of there. I haven't had any curly fries in nearly a week, It was starting to feel like a rehab. Two orders please!"

"You got it, Hon!" She jots the order down with a motherly chuckle "What else can I get for y'all?"

After Emily takes everyone's orders Stiles ropes her and another waitress into signing his cast. "I swear Stiles Stilinski if I have to sign anymore casts I may have to just quit my job and follow you around with a crash pad. My goodness."

"Speaking of crashes," Lydia starts as Emily leave to enter their order, "How's the jeep?"

"Oh yeah. Poor Roscoe's gonna be out of commission for a while till I can get enough money saved. I might have to take the bus."

"You can ride with me! I'll pick you up." Scott offers

"No offense Scotty, but I'm not riding on that bike with you."

"I can drive you." Derek suggests.

"Really? You'd do that?"

"Sure."

"Thanks, man! I was really hoping not to have to ride the bus."

"We're gonna have to get you caught up. Our Calculus teacher is a tyrant." Lydia says.

"Yeah, I'm still gonna need your notes, Lydia." Malia adds.

Everyone's orders are served moments later and Stiles puts a hurting on his fries, a few even go missing from everyone's plates. "Oh my god guys. Real food is amazing. I'll never take another bite for granted, I swear."

Milkshakes are ordered immediately after and Emily adds extra cherries and crushed peanuts on top of Stiles just the way he always gets, but this time with even more cherries than usual. "Cause you've been missing out on the good stuff." She adds with a wink.


	4. Return of the Stiles, to school that is.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Stiles first day back to school since the incident.  
> Derek drives him there and the Hales get invite to join pack nights, and something happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for any confusion and possible trouble finding this fic. Yes, I changed my username.  
> I'm so tempted to update the tags to include everything that I know will happen in this fic but I also don't want to spoil anything. To tag or not to tag..

It's Friday morning, Stiles' first day back to school since the accident. Stiles is a little nervous, or anxious, excited maybe. He's not sure exactly how he's feeling, but he bet's it has something to do with Derek regularly driving him to and from School. He's quite looking forward to it.

Stiles wraps his cast in plastic wrap as best he can, grabs a shower and gets dressed. Downstairs, he reheats some leftover dinner for breakfast and packs a pop tart to add to his lunch. He's rinsing his plate when he hears the rumble of Derek's Camaro pull into the driveway. Stiles pulls on a red hoodie over his gray graphic tee before getting his school bag and heading out to meet Derek.

Derek is a little nervous. He's honestly excited and anxious to be in such close proximity to Stiles on a regular basis. His stoic demeanor isn't going to give anything away. 

When Stiles gets into the car and closes the door Derek's nerves are near instantly calmed as Stiles scent fills the cabin. It's so intoxicating to him. He really has an urge to bury his face into Stiles' neck, and he could. He's so close but thinks better of it. 

"Thanks for driving me to school."

"Ready?"

"Yeah, let's go."

Stiles fills the drive with conversation and random facts. How he hopes some teachers are going to give him some slack for being out of school and then onto his thoughts of the newest superhero film. Derek doesn't add much and is mostly gives his usual short answers. He enjoys the drive, listening as Stiles' voice washes over him. 

When they reach the school-all too soon-Derek finds an open parking near the front. 

"Thanks again, Derek. I appreciate it." Stiles thanks, and with that is gone. Derek watches as Stiles bounds up the school steps to meet up with Scott and Kira. 

"You're welcome." Derek says aloud when Stiles is safely inside. 

Derek makes a quick stop to the Beacon Hills City Building Department to pick up a copy of the Hale house blueprints, and when he's back at the loft, spends hours looking over the prints. He looks over every square inch and carefully considers all the details. The more he looks at it, though, there's really not much he wants to change. He runs a few things by Cora to confirm and she agrees with him, to just leave it like it is. They decide to sit on the plans for a week, see if anything comes to mind. He keeps a small notepad with the prints for questions to ask the contractors later, minor things like utilities and such.

Cora whips up a tasty lunch she learned to make in South America while Derek get's a workout in for the day. After their lunch he get's lost in a book and before he knows it, it's time to pick Stiles up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The school day went pretty well, and the time seemed to fly by which Stiles was very thankful for. He and Lydia had a long study session yesterday evening to prepare for his return. He felt pretty confident about getting back into his classes after being out for a whole week. He's not allowed to play in any lacrosse games yet, but he knows at practice Coach will run him into the ground with running drills.

Stiles couldn't help but think throughout his classes at how natural and normal it felt to be in Derek's car, and just how much he enjoyed it. To be near Derek in such a close space again. In the past they've been forced into close quarters with each other, on one such occasion Stiles laid on top of Derek-which Stiles has had many fantasies about-, but they were both paralyzed and forced into the situation. This driving arrangement, however, was chosen and natural. It's good is what Stiles thinks it is, very good.

Soon enough Stiles and the pack are leaving their final class and heading out of their school doors as a group. Stiles takes note of how the day has warmed and removes his hoodie. It doesn't take long for him to find Derek waiting for him, leaning against the Camaro in a black tee and aviators. His arms are crossed over his chest, naturally displaying his strong arms. Stiles could get used to seeing Derek waiting for him like this.

Scott walks over with Stiles.

"Scott." Derek greets

"Hey, Derek. Since you and Cora are staying, tomorrow night is Pack Night and you guys should come,"

As Alpha, Scott decided shortly after Derek left that the pack needed to get everyone together regularly, even though they see each other every day with School and what not. At first, Scott started calling them pack meetings, but with their constant communication keeping them on top of events, they quickly turned into movie-food-hang-out-bonding-time, or more colloquially known as Pack Night. 

"Every Saturday night, usually at Stiles' but sometimes at Lydia's or my house."

"We'll be there." Derek agrees.

"Awesome, seven o'clock. Stiles is a really good cook so come hungry." Scott adds with an excited smile.

Stiles and Scott share a quick bro-hug before heading home. Climbing back into the Camaro Stiles goes limp, relaxing into the cool leather seats and fresh smell that the meticulously cared for car emits. 

"Uh! Derek your car is so nice. These seats are so cool and comfy." Stiles forcefully inhales "And it smells brand new, you really take care of this thing. I can't believe you let Scott drive it that one time."

"And the will be the only time. I needed someone to distract the Argents while I evaded the police."

"Yeah, sorry about that. But we're good now! You've been exonerated and hunters didn't kill you so, yay!"

Derek huffs at Stiles and the corners his mouth just barely curve into the start of a smile.

"Did the SourWolf just smile a little there?"

"No."

"Well, gotta start somewhere I guess."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pack day. Derek and Cora arrive to the Stilinski house hold to find everyone already there except for two. 

"Lydia and Malia were out shopping. They'll be here in a little." Kira informs.

"Hopefully soon if they want any of this delicious beast." Stiles comments. The delicious beast being referred to is a homemade Stilinki family recipe for a mac 'n' cheese with four kinds of cheese' and bits of sweet ham throughout. "I really should start making two of these with the way you creatures eat." He adds pulling it ready and hot from the oven.

"Do you have enough ingredients to make another one now?" Liam asks enthusiastically.

Stiles lifts the lid and the glorious smell fills the room. Even Derek raises a couple brows at how amazing it smells.

"Please?" Liam begs

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lydia and Malia are on their way to pack night from a shopping trip that Lydia just had to make for Malia. Something about Malia needing to learn how to accessorize. It wasn't a very fruitful expedition and Malia isn't bummed at all.

"Oh, you missed the turn." Malia states looking back at the road they were supposed to take.

"What are you talking about, this is the-" Lydia suddenly realizes that Kira is right. "It's fine, I can take Worth over to Brice."

"Any luck figuring out what's going on with Parrish?"

"No, not yet. There are a number of possibilities in mythology but none of the creatures have a human form."

"Like what?"

"Salamanders, Pheonix, Dragons. A Pyromancer could make sense but doesn't seem to know anything about magics, if that kind is real. Every culture has demons, but that seems a bit, biblical, but still a possibility I guess.

"Lydia, why'd you turn left? You're going the wrong way again."

"No, I'm not."

"I'm pretty sure this way doesn't take us to Stiles'."

"I know where I'm go-, Shit."

"Shit? Like Oh-I-guess-we'll-take-the-long-way-shit or Oh-we're-gonna-find-a-dead-body-shit?"

Lydia smoothes her lipstick in a nervous tick. "Dead-body-shit."

"I'll call the pack."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kira jumps from her seat on the counter to retrieve her phone. 

"Hello?"

"Kira, we've got new plans tonight. Lydia's taking a Banshee's detour."

"Oh." Kira looks up to see that all the wolves were listening in. Scott buries his face into his palms. "Okay, um. Tell us when you get there?"

Mason takes note of everyone's glum expressions. "What? What happened?"

"We're about to find a dead body." Kira answers

"Can't even go a month without something happening." Stiles retorts, adding ham to the second batch of mac 'n' cheese.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Lydia slows to a stop she's in some random furniture shops parking lot. It's closed and looks like it has been out of business for a while. The doors are chained shut but the furniture is still on display inside. 

"I hope it's not inside the building where there's no power." Lydia states.

"I smell blood," Malia notes, and Lydia can see her looking for a direction. "This way."

The two carefully walk around to the back of the building. The only like now it from the light poles, emitting a buzzing hum. They have no idea how long the body will have been there and the killer could still be around, so Malia leads the way.

"There." Malia points to a very large puddle of blood, and there's a broken high heel shoe, but no body. "Where's the body?" 

"There was one. There had to be for this much blood."

"This blood and shoe are the only new things here I can smell. Sense anything else?"

"No. I'll call Scott."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the rest of the pack arrives they find Lydia staring at the puddle of blood and the broken shoe. With her arms crossed, she's circling the scene trying to gather any clues the blood and shoe could give them. 

Malia walks up to Scott and informs him on what they've found. "There's no body. Just blood and a shoe. I looked around but didnt find anything. There's a faint scent of someone being here, but that's it. They werent here long, whatever happened, happened fast."

"The blood doesn't look like it was spilled in any specific direction, she wasn't moving, its almost like she was being held up off the ground when it happened. There's no trail, no drops outside this spot." Lydia states when the pack comes up to the scene.

"Oh, geez," Stiles exclaims "That's alot of blood." Feeling a bit queasy. Thanks to the supernatural Stiles has seen alot of blood, more than he'd like, but it still makes him dizzy. 

"Scott, your senses are stronger, can you smell anything? I've only got a good scent from the shoe." Malia asks.

Scott nears the blood and searches for lingering traces of anything. He gets blood, a female scent from the shoe, trash from the dumpsters, and a faint smell of something else, someone else.

"I smell, it's like another person, it's too weak, though. I don't think I can get anything specific about it, but someone else was definitely here."

"So, is this the part where we call the police?" Mason asks.

Scott looks to the Hales. "Any ideas?"

Derek crouches down near the puddle but shakes his head, and Cora gives a "Nope, I got nothing." 

Stiles makes the call. "Hey pops, watch'a doin'?"


	5. Deep feelings and Danger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still no clues about the missing body. And Lydia finds a new one, with guests.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you are all enjoying this. I'm so tempted to update the tags with everything that I know will happen. Characters and events. I'll just continue to update with each new chapter.  
> Derek's feelings begin to shine some, finally.  
> Once again unsure what to name the chapter, I feel like it could mean more that what happens in the chapter.

"Has your dad found anything out yet?" Scott asks at Stiles at his locker.

"No, and you think after a week they would have found something." Stiles throws some books from his locker into his bag. "The shoe is too generic, no blood match in the database, no clues to match missing persons, no working security cameras. Nada. Zilch."

"And they didn't find anything else at the scene?"

"Nope. Derek and Cora have been making rounds around town and the preserve but without knowing what we're looking for there's kind of no point. We know it's supernatural related because Lydia was lead there. But yeah, all we got is female blood and a broken high heel shoe. I find it hard to believe the scene is that clean, there's always a hair or something left."

"Everyone looked over that place before the cops showed up. There was nothing."

"No leads. These things don't usually go so quiet. Normally we've got something else to go on by now. It's weird, ya know? I'm getting nervous just waiting for something."

"Well, maybe the killer left town? Maybe they didn't mean to kill her and they cleaned the scene of anything that could connect them."

"Ever the optimist, Scotty," Stiles smirks clapping a hand on Scott's shoulder. "Quite possible, but that has yet to be our luck. Why is the body gone, though? Why did they take it?"

"Do you think they ate it?"

"It wouldn't be the first time."

When Stiles is walking out of the school he's too busy looking over the lot for Derek that he doesn't notice a student running out from behind him. There are so many people crowded around and the kid slams into Stiles, knocking him down a couple of the concrete stairs and scraping his hands up. The kid just disappears.

Derek saw the whole thing, and he's furious. His eyes are shining a deadly shade blue, and a deep growl is rumbling from his chest. Anger is seeping off of him in thick waves and Cora's immediately concerned by the strength of it.

"Woah Big Bad," Cora warns, grabbing Derek by the arm and pulling him back against the Camaro "Calm down. Derek your eyes, stop it."

Derek glares at Cora's hand before he rips his arm free of her grip.

"Derek, why are you so worked up? Look, Stiles is fine. Scott's with him and he's- Oh my god."

"Cora." He warns with a low grumble. He sounds annoyed, but it's almost like a beg for her not to go any further. He let it slip and she put it together so damn quickly.

"He's your mate isn't he? Derek. Derek! You need to talk to him."

"No."

"Derek, if he's that important to you then he needs to know!"

"No."

"Derek."

"Not yet."

"Not yet? When?"

"I can't loose him, Cora. What if he rejects me? I can't."

"Wow. You've really fallen hard for him."

Derek palms his forehead like he's got a migraine. "Yeah."

"Look, Scott's with him, he's fine. You, however, are not, go take a walk." Cora instructs, and he does.

Its only been a week of driving Stiles and he's gotten so much more attached. The routine of it is normal and its life, life with Stiles. It's part of everything he wants but he's too afraid to say anything. Derek doesn't know if he could let go of Stiles, and without facing the possibility of rejection, he's safe to continue seeing him as friends.

"What's wrong with SourWolf?" Stiles asks Cora, "He looked pretty upset?"

"He's fine," Cora reassures, silently studying Stiles in a new way. "Just stretching his legs, he'll be back."

"Oh. So what brings you on this trip to our beautiful high school?"

"We dropped off the plans for the house today."

"That's awesome! Good for you guys. How long will it take."

"Contractor said about five months."

"Oh man! That's quick!"

"Yeah, we hired a pretty big crew. And the sooner the better. I don't know how Derek chose that loft."

"His base of operations have been pretty sketchy. The loft is his best one yet, although the cabin sounds really nice."

"Really?"

"You didn't know? Yeah, when he first came back he was living in the burnt remains of your old house. That was super creepy. There was no power, entire walls missing, and I have no idea what he did for utilities and food. Later when he started a pack he lived in an abandoned train station. At least that was warmer."

"Jesus."

________________________________________________________________

A few days later, Lydia finds somthing. She was on her way to pick up her dog Prada from the groomers-or that's where she thought she was going-when she found herself at a park on the edge of town.

"Scott," She called on her cell, "I'm at Logan Park. I think there's a body here."

Eight minutes, it's been eight minutes and Lydia can't wait for the pack any longer. A feeling of dread has been creeping up her spine and it's only gotten worse, her joints ache restlessly and she can't take it any longer. She has to go find this body.

She finds herself being drawn off the trail. Luckily today she opted to wear wide heeled shoes, she'd be stumbling all over if her heels were any thinner and could sink into the ground. It's six in the afternoon and the sun is beginning to dull. Her brain reminds her that she should wait for the pack but she can't, not any longer. The dread is too urgent.

She's been wandering for a little and she can't see the trail behind her anymore. The occasional branch snags a small piece of her hair, and a few bristles have clung to her tights and skirt. Then she sees it, but just barely notices it in the distance, but it's not just a body. There is someone else, overtop of the body and their movement is was caught her eye.

She's stopped dead in her tracks. She sees the blood from the distance and as she focuses she sees that there are two people alive and not just one over the body. " _Oh god_." She thinks as she continues to watch. They are actually eating the body! They are tearing at limbs and pulling the inside out and devouring it with numerous sharp teeth.

Suddenly frightened she takes a step back towards the trail, she does her best to be silent by moving slowly. She's outnumbered and outmatched, she really should have waited. She didn't expect the killers to still be there at all. This must be a fresh kill.

Continuing to ease her way back she keeps her head on a swivel to check that she hasn't been spotted after every few steps. She's about twenty feet from where she spotted the sight when all of a sudden

Snap

She stepped on a large dry twig and the sound clearly echoes through the woods. Her heart races, she can feel it in her throat, beating and beating. She looks back to see the creatures, they are unmoving, and then one peeks its human looking face around and spots her. The creatures stand up and point to her before running to capture their next meal.

Lydia bolts, stealth is useless now. Her heart is racing and there is no way she can defend herself against two of these things let alone one. She runs as fast as the brush in her way will allow, her skirt snagging and her tights tear against a thorn bush cutting a bloody scrape into her leg.

"Help! Scott! Stiles!" She screams in hopes they've arrived and can hear her. Nothing.

She looks back and the creatures looks human, only covered in blood, and they're gaining on her. They're faster than her and the brush doesn't seem to slow them down at all.

"Help! Kira!" She screams again, desperate for someone to save her. She feels the dread again, but not in a banshee way, she's afraid that she won't be fast enough. They're getting so much closer to her, she can hear them roar in anger.

Something flies out of nowhere and Lydia stumbles from watching the distraction and not her feet.

It's Scott and Kira.

Scott roars but the creatures don't stop, brandishing their teeth sending a defiant snarl. "Wendigo!" he calls out, all red eyes and teeth.

Kira stands defensively in front of Lydia drawing her sword while Scott meets the first wendigo. Scott lashes out a brutal flurry of sharp claws. The wendigo dodges and blocks a few of the strikes but misses the last as Scott's claws rake into its chest sending a shriek of pain and blood into the air. It kicks hard, sending Scott stumbling back against a tree.

The other wendigo quickly makes his way to Kira. She elegantly whirls her sword in an attempt to intimidate, but either the wendigo is too brave or stupid because there is no change in its approaching pace. She slashes skilled strikes with her blade but the creature is unnaturally agile, dodging her sharp sweeps and thrusts.

Just as the first Wendigo is about to come down on Scott, Derek comes out of nowhere tackling it with bestial force taking it to the ground in a pin. He roars in its face with shifted blue eyes and fangs. It skillfully knocks Derek off and goes on to dodge an exchange of blows with both Derek and Scott.

Stiles finally arrives at the scene armed with nothing but a baseball bat. He rushes in to pick Lydia up who was so stunned by the combat that she still hadn't found her legs. "Lydia! Hey! Are you okay?" He says in a panic, picking her up by her arms and looking her over.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just, I couldn't wait for you guys. I didn't know the killers would still be here."

Kira's still going strong on the offensive, blade moving with ethereal grace, flashing brightly with reflections of the remaining rays of sun. She has managed to land a few slashes to the wendigos now bloody arms and a shallow cut to its stomach but the creature isn't slowing down any despite its inability to quickly heal.

The creature bows low to dodge Kira's wide slash and it grabs her by the wrist. The two struggle over the weapon but the wendigo brutally tosses her against a tree by her wrists alone. With her out of the way, it strides up to Stiles and Lydia.

Stiles lets loose a battle cry as he swings at the sharp grin on the wendigos face. It dodges the first swing, then,

Crack!

Stilinski lands a hit causing it to stumble back.With the creature dazed he sees the clear opening and goes to swing again but the bat is caught in the creature's grip. Stiles tries to pull the bat free but there is no slack in the grip. The wendigo smiles wide and lands a fist right arainst Stiles face, knocking him loose from the bat and back a couple feet. It grabs Stiles by the throat and lifts him into the hair.

"Stiles!" Lydia screams.

Stiles is gasping for breath, his hands fighting to tear of the wendigos iron grip. His feet kicking at the air. He can feel its razor sharp claws pierce the skin of his vulnerable neck where a small warm streak of blood runs down as the grip tightens. He's getting dizzy from the lack of air, and he can see the creatures free hand raise back, ready to disembowel him.

The creatures smirk literally disappears when Kira's blade decapitates the beast. Sending its head flying off into the forest. Stiles is on the ground in an instant, pushing the body off of him and gasping for fresh air. "Holy shit!" He heaves in relief. When he looks up he sees Derek holding back the other wendigo as Scott rips its throat out.

The second body falls and Derek is full on glaring at Stiles.

"Scott!" Kira yells as she runs to him. "You're bleeding."

"Yeah, he bit me."

"We're good at healing, but that's pretty deep, you should have Deaton take a look." Derek comments before coolly heading over to check on Stiles. He's trying to hide his concern for Stiles but it's translating on his face as annoyance.

"Derek. You okay?" Is all Stiles can get out before Derek gets up so close to him that it forces him back against a tree. Derek pushes Stiles face to the side to check on the bleeding. "Woah, I thought we were passed pushing the human against things."

"I didn't touch you," He replies in a rough tone. "Have Deaton look at that." The bleeding is right over Stiles carotid and Derek doesn't like how that could have so easily played out. He hates to even think about it, so he just walks away before he does something he might regret. "C'mon."

　

　

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love your feedback guys. It's interactive and its always good to hear what people think.


	6. Chapter 6

Sitting on the steel table at Deaton's clinic, Stile winces as the veterinarian cleans the neck wound with antiseptic. When Stiles saw the first cloth used to remove the dried blood, it was also the first time he notices that his shirt is also stained. He's holding an ice pack to his face where his eye is already black and green, it's gonna feel great tomorrow.

After the Wendigo encounter, the pack went straight to Deaton to patch up. On the way, Stiles called his father to place an "anonymous" tip about a dead body in the park. Derek was abnormally quiet on the drive and Stiles took note, though it didn't halt his own ramblings.

"Any deeper and this small wound could have been fatal, but you'll be fine just fine Mr. Stilinski." The veterinarian says with his ever clinical calm. Derek watches with crossed arms, leaning against the opposing counter.

"I'm lucky Kira was so quick to her feet." Stiles states looking toward Kira in thanks. She nods a silent reply.

Deaton had already cleaned Scott's bite wound, expounding on how its depth may cause it to heal a little slower than normal. Still, he wrapped it in bandages purely to conceal than for any actual medical aid as Werewolves rapidly heal and are immune to natural infections and such.

When Derek got the call from Kira about Lydia sensing a dead body Scott was also calling Stiles. Stiles promptly asked Derek for a ride since his house would be on the way, no way he would miss out on this. Cora was out at the mall, probably looking for things to fill the under construction home with, while Liam and Mason were out with some other friends from school. As it was just a dead body Scott didn't expect to encounter the killers, so it didn't seem to require the whole pack.

Later when the three found out they were quite disappointed not to have been a part of the events. Liam was secretly more pleased though to have been out with Mason and friends, one of whom was a girl named Hayden. 

Liam and Hayden have some rough history, but they seem to be using it as a way to flirt. Mason took notice rather quickly but has his eye on one of their other friends. Corey.

"Alright Stiles, that should do." Deaton finishes by adding a small round bandage. 

"Thanks, Doc, feels better already." Stiles adds hopping off the table.

"That everyone?" Deaton asks looking to Derek, who's still covered in traces of dried blood, and then to Kira.

"Yeah, we're good. Thanks Deaton." Derek says pushing off the counter. "Let's get you home." He adds looking to Stiles.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"Thanks for the ride." Stiles thanks as Derek pulls up into the Stilinski's drive way next to Johns car. 

"Yeah." Derek nods.

"You wanna come in?" Stiles asks, point a thumb over his shoulder to the house.

"Uh," Derek looks down to his torn shirt and arms covered in dried blood. "I need to go clean up."

"Right." Stiles replies because it's obvious. Also, his dad might have had a heart attack if Derek walked in like that. Stiles exits the Camaro and gives Derek a wave before heading inside. 

"Hey Pops, I'm home!" Stiles greets closing the door behind him, expecting a "Hey kiddo!"

No reply.

Stiles checks the window in the kitchen to make sure that his dad's car is actually home, and it is, parked right where it should be. Today is there Sheriff's day off so he probably wouldn't be anywhere else but relaxing at home. "Dad?" He calls again, this time confused.

Stiles checks the recliner in the family room, Johns favorite spot to lounge and nap, but no sign. Stiles' worry lessens when he thinks his father is probably just sleeping in his room, hopefully, Stiles didn't wake him. So he goes to check his dad's room but the door is wide open and the room is empty. He finishes checking the rest of the house but no one is home.

Royally confused and starting to worry he calls his father's cell. It rings and rings and then ends with a change to give a voice mail, so he does.

"Hey, dad. Your car's in the drive but you're not home and you didn't pick up. Starting to worry about you. Call me."

Stiles runs down the steps and checks the back yard, but again, nothing. He walks back inside and plops down on the couch, his foot jackrabbiting on the floor. He's waiting to hear back from his dad while his mind races on where he could possibly be. 

"Work. He's always at work. Maybe someone came by and picked him up?"

So Stiles calls the station, but no one has seen him come in today. Stiles worry turns into panic. 

"It's nothing Stiles he's- probably just taken up running, or Parrish took him for a drink and he's drunk off his ass." Stiles says to himself. He's trying to calm down but any of these probable scenarios are really not that probable and it's not helping his anxiety any.

Finally, after forcing himself to sit calmly for what feels nearly like thirty minutes -it was only twelve- his phone rings and he picks it up so fast he nearly forgets to press the answer button.

"Hello?"

"Stiles, where are you?" It's Scott, he sounds concerned, and out of breath.

"I'm at home, why? What's going on Scott?"

"My mom's been taken."

"Wait, taken? Scott, I can't get ahold of my dad either. How do you know she's been taken?" Stiles panics

"My door's been marked, Deucalion is back."

"No, no no no this can't be happening. Not again." Stiles pray aloud. He can feel the panic attack coming, his throat is starting to feel too small for his body. His hands shaking along with his voice. "Uh-I-We- Wh-wh-what do we do Scott? Scott, what do we do?"

"I'm tracking their scent. See if Derek can find anything at your place. Stiles, I'm sorry, we should've killed him when we had the chance. I'm sorry."

"No, don't be sorry Scott. I'll call Derek. Find them, Scott, please." 

Stiles ends the call and immediately looks for Derek's number. His hands are shaking so bad that he nearly dials the wrong number. His dad had been taken before and he doesn't know how he got through that, it's happening again.  
"Stiles?"

"Deucalion's back, Melissa, and my dad are missing. Scott's tracking Deucalion and Melissa's scent. I need your help, Derek, please, help me find my dad."

"I'm on my way, Stiles. I'm on my way, we'll find them." Stiles can hear the urgency in Derek's voice, but it's a solid sound that Stiles knows he can count on.

"Hurry Derek, please."

_______________________________________________________________________________________

When Stiles hears the Camaro pull up he bolts for the door. Derek's not even out of the car when Stiles starts with his helpless questions. 

"Can you get a scent? Was it Deucalion? Is it too late? Do you need anything? Let me go get my dad's jacket."

"I know Johns scent," Derek says calmly, walking towards the front of the house, "Let me see if I can pick up Deucalion's."

Derek finds the front door, but unlike Scotts, there's no marking. He walks inside and wonders the rooms with Stiles on his heels.

"Anything?" Stiles asks desperately. He can't bare to lose his dad. He's all he has left.

"Yeah, he was here," Derek answers, heading for the back door. "They went this way." 

Derek opens the back door and heads through the small yard into the section of woods behind the house. There is a gentle breeze and it's enough to weaken the scent some, but not enough to erase it. They follow the scent about a hundred yards in before they meet an empty roadway that travels through the woods. It's a paved road really only used as a utility way for few local warehouses and various distributions companies.

"Damn it!" Derek curses in frustration.

"What? What is it? Did you loose them?" 

"I think they got into a car. It's harder to smell them and I don't know what scent to follow now, yet. Here," Derek says fishing his keys from his pocket and holding them out to Stiles, "Get the car, meet me just ahead of here."

"What? I, Okay?" He says taking the keys.

Derek pulls off his shirt and starts unbuttoning his pants when he sees that Stiles hasn't moved. "Go!" He commands, pointing off towards the house. Stiles turns and runs as fast he can, leaving Derek in the woods. 

Tears begin to blur Stiles vision as he races back home, wishing to any higher power listening that they will find his father and Melissa alive and unharmed. John is all Stiles has left, and Melissa has become a sort of surrogate mother figure to him. 

"C'mon Derek, please. Please, find them." He prays aloud, wiping tears away to clear his vision.

When Stiles finally gets to the Camaro he realizes that he's actually getting to drive it, but the reasons for it put his stomach in stitches. Climbing in he doesn't even think to bother with the seat belt, it's the last thing on his mind right now. He puts the key in the ignition and turns, sparking the Camaro to life with a familiar roar. He tears out of the drive way faster than he means to, nearly backing up into the ditch across the street. He's not used to being behind the sensitive pedal of a sports car. 

Shifting into gear Stiles carefully accelerates to get a feel for the beast. He's ridden with Derek many times but he never gleamed just how touchy the acceleration is, which is very unlike the Jeep. In no time at all, he's found himself where they stopped at the roadway. He slows down to spot Derek through the trees but doesn't see him, he drives a little farther up like Derek said but still isn't seeing anything.

Then without warning a huge black wolf bursts from the tree line and onto the road. It takes Stiles a moment to realizes that it's Derek. Stiles thinks that his senses must be heightened when fully shifted, which explains the stripping. Derek takes off at full speed and Stiles almost forgets to follow, distracted by the majestic sight. 

Derek's wolf form is just like him, think and muscular, hair as dark as a starless sky. Even though his face is very un-human, Stiles feels like he could still read Derek's expressions. He moves with an ethereal grace that remains strong, bestial, and grounded. Stiles has seen this side of Derek once before and hadn't forgotten a thing about it.

Stiles phone rings suddenly with a call from Scott.

"Scott! Did you find them?"

"No." Scott replies, out of breath, "I can't find it, I lost her scent. Please tell me Derek found something."

"I'm following him right now, we're on Monroe heading, uh, east. Derek just turned onto Almona."

"Okay, keep us updated. I need to keep looking. I'll send Cora and Liam to you guys. Stiles, I'm sorry."

"No, buddy. Don't blame yourself," Stiles replies wiping a tear from his eye. "We'll find them. Derek's still going strong. We got this, okay Scott? We got this."

Stiles hangs up, not sure how much longer he could have stayed positive for Scott or himself.

Derek veers to the other half of the road and slows down, nose hovering the ground and searching the air above. Stiles slows to a halt behind him, panic rising in his veins again.

Derek wanders off the road and into the woods for a quick search but comes back too soon for Stiles liking. Returning to the Camaro, Derek's wolf face carries a look of disappointment. 

Stiles doesn't like what this could mean, so he gets out of the car in attempts to communicate to the wolf. 

"Derek? Please tell me you didn't lose them."

Derek just looks at Stiles almost apologetically as he trots to the trunk. Stiles follows around and Derek nudges it with his head indicating that he wants access to it. Stiles pops the trunk and Derek shifts back to human. He's completely naked and quickly grabs a pair of gym shorts from the open trunk. Stiles looks both directions of the roadway to make sure no one else is approaching, all clear. 

Derek hasn't to respond to Stiles question, but Stiles can see the tight expression on his face. 

"Derek? You know where they went right?" He asks, not caring to avert his eyes as Derek threatens his legs into the shorts. He's relying on Derek to find his father. Derek has become a constant for Stiles, bonding with the older man on their trips to and from School, even lacrosse practice.

"Derek?" Stiles begs for an answer.

Pulling the shorts up to his waist he looks right into Stiles' face. He doesn't know how to tell Stiles that the trail ends. He doesn't want to give life to the idea of not being able to find his father. Derek can smell the fear in Stiles scent beginning to change into something different.

"Stiles. I'm sorry."

"No." 

"I tried, but the trail is too weak."

"No!" Stiles yells, not willing to accept the fact that he may lose his father. Hot tears begin to sting and swell in his eyes. "Try again! It can't just stop, Derek, look again!"

"Stiles, there's-."

"No!" He yells as pushes angrily against Derek's chest. 

Derek doesn't budge and his faces tighten. His heart is breaking for Stiles. He knows exactly what Stiles is feeling right now and it's so painful, painful enough that his own eyes begin to sting.

"Derek, move!" Stiles commands pushing Derek again as hard as he can. He needs Derek to find the trail, he needs it so desperately. 

"It's gone, Stiles."

"NO!" Stiles screams in rage, trying his best to shove Derek into action.

Derek seems to have just given up, ready to lose John's trail. Derek has the ability to track these things like no human can and he won't do it. It infuriates Stiles because Derek is his only hope, Scott lost the trail and it cant possibly be lost here too. 

He's so full of fear and anger that it boils over and he cries out "Go!" and punches Derek in the face. A face that has become so familiar and a constant help, a face that he has such deep feelings for, but now, it won't help him anymore to find his father. Stiles's world is caving in and breaking apart. Nothing is right, nothing is good, it's all painful and it hurts so much.

Derek has always known Stiles to feel everything and to feel this level of pain is expected. Derek knows what this feels like, so understands the desperate need to force something to happen, he understands the need to destroy things in furry. It causes a change of some kind, maybe forcing something to change is the subconscious way of trying to find something to help. Whatever it is, Derek understands. 

That's why he let Stiles push him, and that's why he accepted the avoidable punch. He won't leave Stiles, especially in his hour of need. He will always be there for him.

"Help me!" Stiles cries, again slamming into Derek's chest with his fists. Tears streaming down his face

"Help me find my dad!" He begs pounding against Derek, willing him to save the day. 

He beats wildly against the solid and unmoving wolf. He's so lost, and his thoughts fail him as he continues to slam his fists into Derek. 

Derek just stands there for Stiles. Unwavering in his devotion to the young man. Derek will be a shoulder for Stiles, but if he needs to be there for Stiles to vent his rage, then he gladly will be. He can take it, and he will happily be of any aid to his mate. He understands from experience that bottling up such deep emotions is unhealthy and if this is how he can help Stiles to release them, then so be it.

Stiles wrath dissipates as he tires, exhausted from rage. He chokes on tears and slumps forward against Derek's bare chest. 

Derek instinctually reaches out and wraps Stiles tightly in his arms. He moves a hand up to the back of Stiles' neck to rub soothingly, trying his best to calm and comfort his love. His heart breaks as he feels Stiles bury sobs into his neck. 

"Stiles, listen to me," He speaks into Stiles' hair, "I promise you, I will do everything I can to find your father. I will keep searching."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed. I'd like the end scene there continue but I don't know quite how to just yet. Maybe it'll pick up in the next chapter, we shall see.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles time while his father is missing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 7, things are building up!
> 
> Update 3/29/17: Sorry for the delay in writing.   
> I came across sort of a writers block with a particular section, but I finally got a direction to go in that I didn't originally intend too.  
> It's something I didn't consider but makes for a good story I think.   
> Also Mass Effect Andromeda has been eating up all of my free time, whoops.  
> Stay tuned guys, I can't give an ETA for the next chapter but It is in the works I promise.   
> I love and appreciate all the support and interest you guys have been giving me, it really does mean the world. Seriously.

Stiles refuses to stop. He can't, he won't give up. Sheriff John Stilinski is Stiles father and only remaining parent. He and Melissa are both missing, taken by Deucalion.

Stiles carries on searching for anything to lead to his father, even after the sun has set, leaving it's last rays of light to the full darkness of night.

Stiles searches alongside the wolves for hours, even when he knows he won't be the one to find anything. He can't track by scent, or see in the dark, or hear sounds from miles away. But wants, needs, to be there when something is found; when anything is found.

He carries on and on for hours, driven by the need to save his father. 

It's not lost on the pack, least of all Derek. He sensed the younger man's need for his last family member, and Derek too would fight like hell for Cora. Scott also shows no signs of stopping for his mother.

Stiles huffs, and pushes his muscles past the point of burn and pain to keep going; and soon after, his body refuses to co-operate with his demands. He falls to his hands and knees while walking up a steep slope in the middle of some random piece of forest. He tries to stand but his limbs are shot, he can barely even manage to balance on just his knees. Scott is by his side in an instant to help him up. 

This is where they find themselves past four in the morning. 

"I'm okay, I'm okay," Stiles pants, eyes heavy and leaning into Scott for support, "Keep going, I'll catch up."

"Stiles," Scott spoke, holding all of Stiles body weight, "I think we need to call it a night."

Stiles makes a face like Scott has just betrayed him. Full of disbelief and shock.

"Trust me, Stiles, no one wants to stop, but we can't keep going on like this, it's dark and we need to rest for tomorrow."

"He's right," Liam adds, "What if Deucalion does something tomorrow, we'll be useless if we're too tired to handle a fight."

Stiles reluctantly concedes with a few sluggish nods.

"I'll take you home," Derek says, and soon enough Stiles finds himself relaxed in Dereks Camaro.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

When Stiles wakes, it's to the sun shinning through his window. Then he sits up in a flash at remembering yesterday and last night.

He immediately regrets moving as fast as he did, his whole body is shooting an awful ache everywhere. It's painful enough to send his face into a grimace and to shut his eyes tightly while trying to hold back a curse. He lays back down when a weird thought occurs to him, he doesn't remember how he ended up in his bed.

"You need to rest." A deep voice speaks, sending Stiles shooting up again in alarm.

"Oh, Fuck!" Stiles gasps in realization when his eyes find that the voice belongs to Derek, who is leaned back in Stiles computer chair with a book from Stiles shelf, "Warn a person, get a collar with a bell or something."

"That wouldn't be stealthy,"

"That's the point, though you probably still would be. What time is it?"

"Almost eight,"

"Why didn't you wake me up?!"

"You only slept for three hours, and after exhausting yourself like that you need to rest,"

"I'm fine," Stiles says pushing himself out of bed and onto his wobbly legs, "I need to find my dad,"

"Stiles," Derek commands grabbing a hold of the younger man before his legs could give out again, "You need, to rest."

"Shit,"

Derek helps Stiles back to the bed before kneeling down in front of him.

"I will make sure we keep looking, but you, Mason, and Lydia pushed yourselves too much last night. We'll call you when we find anything."

"Promise me, Hale, you so much as find a snapped twig, I want to hear about it,"

Derek tries suppresses a smirk at how much Stiles sounds like his father, and mostly succeeds.

"I promise,"

"Don't just promise me like that Derek, I saw that. I'm serious. My father's been kidnaped by a crazed Alpha returned for revenge and-,"

"Stiles," Derek interrupts nodding, and placing a firm hand on Stiles' knee, "I know how important he is, believe me, I know. And I promise you. We find anything, you're the first to know,"

"As soon as I can stand I'm going out there with you guys."

"I know."

Derek turns away and disappears out the window. 

Classic Derek.

When he gets into his Camaro he can't help but smile at the uptick he heard in Stiles heartbeat when he placed his hand on Stiles' knee. He pulls out of the drive, heading east to continue the search.

Stiles manages to get his laptop and occupy himself with social media, Netflix, and googling any random thing he can to try and keep his mind off the awful fact that he isn't out there with the others trying to find his father and Melissa.

He finds the distance between Earth and Saturn, how much land mass would be covered by water if the ice caps completely melted, how to tell time by stars in the sky, why hogs get metal rings in their nose, what was the 3rd presidents middle name, what is the most number of languages one person has learned, what does it take to be knighted by the Queen of England and gain the title of Sir. 

Stiles wakes to some random video playing on a youtube playlist that he has no idea how he started, he must have fallen asleep at some point. He slides over to get up and his legs don't give as much as they did earlier that day, he safely makes his way to the bathroom without falling, but came close only once.

When Stiles makes it back to his bed he notices that it's already dark again outside, and he's suddenly hit by a fact. He's alone. Obviously, he's the only one in the house but he's so alone, his father is gone, missing, kidnapped.

 

Stiles tries to occupy his mind as best he can but the lingering silence and feeling of uncertainty get to him. He can't be here, it's too much to be in his home without knowing the one person who makes it so, isn't safe.

So he gets his father's spare car key from the kitchen junk drawer, and drives. He thinks about driving to Scotts, but he probably won't be able to handle being around his best friend who is also missing his only parent. So he goes with his gut and drives to a destination that he oddly feels most comfortable with, he drives to Derek's loft.

When he makes it up to the loft he finds the space is empty, so decides to just wait here for Derek to get back. He finds a book on Derek's shelf and plants himself on the couch.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Derek slides the large loft door aside and it creaks with the sound of old rusted metal. Derek spent the rest of the day, evening, and part of the night continuing the search for John and Melissa. Members of the pack that were able, also searched tirelessly for anything to locate the Sheriff and Nurse, but they had stopped at nightfall; Not Derek

No, he continued the search into the early hours of the morning. He made Stiles a promise. 

He starts to make his way over to the makeshift shower when he hears a second heartbeat in the dark loft. Once he realized he and Cora weren't alone, he then noticed the scent.

Stiles.

Stiles is curled up on the couch rustling awake, probably awaken by the loud steel door.

Derek walks over to the light switch and flips it on before turning around to see Stiles now sitting awake and rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Did you find anything?" Stiles asks eagerly. 

Derek shakes his head, "No,"

"Oh," Stiles says in disappointment, releasing a breath he was holding in hope. "I hope you don't mind I'm here. I didn't want to be at home alone while my Dad is, somewhere," he explains.

He checks the time on his phone and it reads 4:27 AM. "You were out really late. Wait, were you searching that whole time?"

"I made you a promise."  
Stiles' face softens, realizing that Derek did, in fact, make him a promise, but he didn't expect Derek to continue to lose sleep over it. It urges a deepening feeling in Stiles, he just can't resist getting up and walking straight over to the other man. 

"Thank you," He thanks as he boldly reaches out to give Derek a hug. He can't believe he's doing it, but something changed between them when Derek made that promise. At least Stiles hopes something changed.

To Stiles half surprise, Derek receives the embrace without hesitation, and he's hit with the scent of Derek. That leathery, woodsy musk, mixed with the clean scent of Derek body wash and antiperspirant. Stiles can't help his mind as it wonders when he picks up the smell of Derek's sweat.

"We'll find them," Derek replies into Stiles' hair

Stiles can't help his heart as it picks up speed from the contact with Derek, being pressed against him by their own will. He's wanted to do it for so long but he never felt comfortable enough to do so, but here they are.

Stiles regretfully pulls away first, hoping it didn't last too long for Derek's liking.

For Derek, it wasn't long enough.

"I um, I'm sorry I hit you." Stiles apologizes, looking down to his feet and rubbing the back of his neck in unease. He's not surprised by the moment of silence that passes, he figures Derek is just glaring at having been reminded. But when Stiles looks back to Derek for his response, he's not there.

He nearly does a complete 360 looking for where the silent wolf had gone off to when he hears something shut, then sees Derek appear from the hole in the brick wall carrying a couple of blankets and picking up the second pillow from his bed.

"Here," He says placing the items on one end of the couch.

"Um, Thanks," 

Derek silently nods, shifting his gaze down to the blankets. "I'm gonna clean up, good night Stiles."

"Yeah, good night Derek."

Derek walks away to shower off the long hours of searching and Stiles unfolds the blankets to sleep on the couch.

Stiles drifts asleep with Dereks pillow and blankets pushed against his nose, breathing the smell of them even in his sleep.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

"Derek! Derek!" Stiles shouts racing to Dereks bed, phone in hand, "Derek get up!" He urges, pushing against Dereks bare shoulder.

"What! What is it?" Derek sits up, voice deep from sleep and eyes flashing blue, scanning the loft for a treat.

"They found him! My dad! He's at the station!" Stiles wraps his arms around Derek's shoulders in joy.

Derek is taken back, two embraces from Stiles in less than twelve hours. "And Melissa?"

The excitement of Stiles' face fades, "No, just my Dad."

"Okay. We need to see him, he'll probably know where she is and what Deucalion wants." He says, swinging his legs out of bed and walking toward the whole in the wall where his clothes are kept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know your thoughts!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "He collapsed?!" Stiles spat into his phone, accelerating his fathers truck as fast as he safely could; Driving with one hand and his phone in the other.  
> ...  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Guys! So sorry for the eternity between last update and this one.  
> I went through a writers block, and a period of not writing at all.  
> I definitely owe it to you guys to finish this, and I have some really awesome scenes already kind of written out that desperately need to be read by my fellow Sterek fans.  
> I'm not as happy with this chapter as I would like to be, especially because it's so short, sorry about that.  
> However, I'm glad to have this chapter out of the way.  
> I hope/feel the rest should come more easily.  
> Again, I have no beta, so any corrections are always welcome.  
> And of course, let me know what you all think!  
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Visit me on tumblr @ https://lone-wolf1993.tumblr.com/

"He collapsed?!" Stiles spat into his phone, accelerating his fathers truck as fast as he safely could; Driving with one hand and his phone in the other. 

"He was pretty banged up when he got here but it must have been worse than we thought. He refused to go to the hospital before seeing you." Parrish countered, "He said it was important."

"Why didn't he just call me?"

"We were too busy trying to patch him up. We didn't think about it. The ambulance just arrived, meet us there."

Stiles dangerously change course last second, making a left turn in the middle of traffic. 

"What the hell!" Derek shouts as an oncoming car nearly swerves into the Camaro. He turns hard to change course with Stiles, squealing tires and earning the berating horns of a few angry drivers in the process.

"What does he think he's doing? The station is the other way!" Cora questions from the passenger seat, gesturing acutely where they should have gone.

Derek's face hardens when he sees a road sign of what may lie ahead. "Beacon Hills Memorial."

 

...

 

The waiting.

The waiting is killing Stiles. He didn't have a chance to speak with his father. He bearly even saw him before medical staff swarmed and separated them, his last parent disappearing behind two large doors.

Doors that mean healing of critical conditions.

Doors that also sometimes mean goodbye.

Scott and Kira are the first to arrive.

Scott and Stiles had oddly not really comforted each other since their parents went missing, the sting of each other's loss probably masking their empathy towards anyone, but seeing Scott's face now changes all that.

Why has it only now become apparent to either of them, they don't know; but they embrace each other as close as brothers can, in support, encouragement, and hope.

"How is he? Has he said anything?" Scott asks, pulling away and searching his brother's eyes for answers.

"I don't know. One of the deputies spotted him walking into town and drove him to the station. He had them call me to meet there but I guess he collapsed as they arrived."

 

... 

 

The rest of the pack had arrived one after the other, asking of Johns condition and offering their sympathies. 

"Stilinski?" a woman asks.

All the pack looks to find a nurse, and Stiles is immediately on his feet.

"Yes? How is he? Is he okay?" Stiles asks. He's worried and now nervous about what the answer will be, everyone is this situation always is.

"He's out of surgery. He had some slow internal bleeding that wasn't clotting, so we stitched him up and he should be making a full recovery. For now, he needs to rest undisturbed, that's very important."

"Can I see him?"

"Soon, yes. We'll move him out into recovery and you can visit him there, though he may not be awake just yet."

"Okay, Thank you."

"Mr. Stilinski, Do you have any ideas as the where the sheriff has been? He sustained a number of cuts that seem consistent with claw marks. I'm aware that this town has had a bizarre number of animal attacks the past few years. If you know anything I'd like to  
recommend you let the authorities know so they can keep others safely away from the area."

"Oh, I don't, I wish I did, but I'll find out when he wakes up. Thank you." 

"Nurse? Did he say anything, anything at all?" Scott asks.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't with him but for a moment before he was sedated." The nurse kindly replies. "We'll give you a call once he's moved into a more suitable room for visitation."

And at that, the nurse smiles and returns to her duties, leaving the pack with the good news of the Sheriff's condition.

 

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I'm trying to find a way to re-write this chapter after It was provided that I made a rather large error, like bringing Kali back from the dead. Oops.


	9. Chapter 9

"They have her at the logging mill," John revealed.

When the pack was allowed to see him he was awake, albeit a bit groggy. 

The room John was set up in was just like any other room in a hospital. Plain white in color, one window that he couldn't really see out of say for a view of the sky, and filled with the shrill beeping of a heart monitor. 

The only difference is the addition of werewolves.

"At old Sasha's?" Derek asks. His face still blank, but Stiles can see it tighten, almost hiding something. 

"Yeah," the Sheriff replied, "Are you familiar with it? Been closed down for a while now."

"Our brother was a foreman there." Cora supplies solemnly, crossing her arms in unease and leaning closer to Derek. 

Everyone knows the Hales aren't keen on sharing memories of their family at will; if the tense atmosphere in the room is any indicator. The look on everyone's face shows remorse, but also curiosity. It's known that many of the Hales lived together in the large Hale House. Derek's parents and two sisters along with Peter, and his other Aunt and Uncle and their four kids, but no one was really aware that Talia had bore two sons.

Stiles feels shocked, he thought he knew Derek pretty well, thought that he had met all of the siblings; if one could think of finding Lauras' body a way of meeting her. He wants to ask, the sudden curiosity triggering his thoughts to race with the fact that he   
knows nothing about the brother and cousins Derek and Cora once had.

More so, Stiles feels an urge to comfort the Hales. It courses through him in some way, a way he can actually feel, pulling on his chest and resting heavily in his palm. Maybe by silently pressing a hand comfortingly on their shoulders. 

"What do you remember, is my mom okay? what are we going up against?" Scott asks the Sheriff.

Stiles gives in to the feeling, he reaches up to Derek first, slow and unsure. When he makes contact Derek stiffens and turns his face to see Stiles. When their eyes meet something clicks, and Derek relaxes. The tension in his shoulders slowly melts away, and his face doesn't seem quite so tight. 

Cora's reaction is nearly the same.

"She's okay the last I saw her, they kept us separated though," John responds, taking a moment to decide if he should share the next bit of information. 

"But, I heard her scream."

Instantly Scott's eyes bleed red and his nostrils began to flare. Telling something like that to a fairly new Alpha with the lifelong maturity of a teenager was probably not the best thing to do, but he had to be honest. 

He seems to calm when Kira takes his hand. 

"What does he want?" Lydia asks, coldly. "He knows Scott won't turn on the people he knows. What is he trying at?"

"I'm not sure. That's what I don't understand. I asked him what this was all about and he replied with informing me all about pack dynamics. Alphas, Betas, Omegas. How one can rise and fall in rank, their role in respect to each other, what happens to wolves without a pack, how an Alpha can take the spark of another, how it can be sacrificed to heal another. And then he very painfully tried to get me to tell him about the dynamics of your pack."

"So he wants to know who's who. Why?" Liam asks 

"He has Melissa," Malia adds, "He's trying to get at Scott again. Even if he managed to make Scott turn on our pack, that would only make him a stronger threat from taking our power. It won't gain his loyalty. I don't think even Scott would allow Deucalion to live after being forced to do something like that. It's not a good plan."

"It's not," Derek says, "But he didn't just talk about Alphas. He mentioned Betas and Omegas too."

"So he's trying to change pack dynamics." Says Mason, "What if he got Scott to give up the Alpha spark?"

"Can a True Alpha give that away?" Scott asks Derek.

"No, and I don't think it can be taken either. You could choose to fall back to a Beta though. That would weaken you, and your pack would be without an Alpha."

"So maybe his goal is to make Scott his Beta, use Melissa to keep him on a leash." Stiles adds "Since having a pack of Alphas didn't end up working out for him."

"Why Scott, and not some stranger who would have the Alpha-Beta bond. And to do what specifically?" Lydia asks "His Alpha pack didn't betray him. Maybe he wants Scott to demote himself so someone else to rise can rise as Alpha."

"I don't think Deucalion would reveal any clues and then just let the Sheriff go. It doesn't sound like something he would do." Kira suggests.

"Villains love to monologue, they actually want people to understand." Stiles states.

"Either way, we need to know how many are with Deucalion, and what we're going up against," Parrish speaks. 

Parrish doesn't yet know much about what he is, but he sure isn't going stand by and do nothing as an innocent mother is held captive and hurt. He has military experience and now knows that he's fire resistant and can heal unnaturally quick.

"Besides Deucalion, only a few men handled us. They weren't visibly armed with any weapons so I assume they're Werewolves or something. Deucalion's a tactician, he won't be making moves against you guys unless he's ready. You've beaten him once, I doubt he'd be foolish enough to start something and not be prepared to win."

"Then whatever he's planning, we need to be ready for it." Cora states.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a slow chapter, and short again.  
> I am working on it guys I promise, I'm just not that great a writer.  
> I really want to share the good scenes with you guys but I'm trying not to rush the story or skip anything, because they're amazing and need to be read by someone!


	10. The end

Okay guys, LoneWolf1993 here.  
I've been meaning to finish this story, but I cant.  
My spurt of writing was short lived.   
I no longer feel to want or inspiration to write.  
I'm sorry.   
But do not fear!  
I have to know that I have shared the ideas of the rest of my story with people who can appreciate it.  
So, here you go!   
All of the major points to the rest of the story along with a little dialogue.  
Please feel free to use these ideas, I'd love to know if you do so I can read it too.  
Thank you for your love and support, even though I didn't follow through to fully finish the story.  
Please enjoy the main points I wanted to hit.

*

The pack goes to face down deucalion.  
Deucalion kills Cora.  
Derek Kills Deucalion, becoming an Alpha.  
Melissa is saved.  
At the loss of Cora, Derek hides away in grief.  
Stiles finds Derek.   
"Why wont you talk to me, Derek?"   
"I have to leave."  
"You, what? Why?"   
*some heated dialog that ends with Derek spilling this confesion*  
"because I love you! I need to leave because everyone I care about, everyone that I have ever cared about, has died. It's all my fault, I've not been smart enough, or quick enough to keep them safe. I've failed and lost everyone in my life Stiles, I'm not going to fail you too."  
"You, you love me? Please don't leave Derek. I, I love you too."  
"Stiles, please, dont. I can't loose you. I need you to be safe."  
They close the gap between them and embrace eachother so tightly, trying to fit the other man into their chest.  
They make up and Derek stays, they become Sterek, insert glorious fluff and romance.  
...  
Chris alerts the pack, Kate made her way back into California.  
Kate Argent makes her appearnce, a showdown ensues.  
Derek charges her and Full Shifts on the run.  
She fires at Derek, backing up as he gets closer.   
The speed he runs on four paws is too quick for Kate and her shots all miss.  
As Derek knocks her down, she draws a knife and stabs Dereks side, right before he rips her throat out.. with his teeth.  
Kate's body lays lifeless, blood gushing from her fatal wound.  
Derek colapses, reverting to his human form.  
The wound turns black, the blade was coated with wolfsbane.  
Stiles reveals that he's kept and small container of wolfsbane to counteract the poison for just such instances, but it fails to work.  
The pack rushs Derek to Deaton.  
Derek lays on an examination table barely concious, the poison visibly nearing his heart.  
Deaton does not posses the strain of wolfsbane they need.  
Derek is running out of time.  
Deaton notices that at Stiles touch the poison slows it's spread. It's does not draw it away or redirect it, only slows.  
He reveals that pack touch aids a werewolf's healing abilites.  
Stiles is desperate, maybe more touch will slow it more.   
He removes his shirt and sits behind Derek, so that the back of Dereks shirtless body is flush with Stiles torso. It's seems to be more effective at slowing down the poison.  
Dereks head rests heavy on Stiles shoulder.  
"Hang on Derek, please, help is on the way. Hold on baby."  
Derek barely mumbles "Love.. You.."  
Chriss arrives with the correct antidote. Yellow Wolfsbane.   
"You're touch saved me, your love saved me."  
The End.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to check out my Tumblr at lone-wolf1993


End file.
